More needed for accuracy from agencies

A person's credit rating can determine how much interest they pay on loans -- or if they can get a loan at all -- their insurance rates and whether they pass a background check for a job.

So it is disturbing that a Federal Trade Commission study, commissioned by Congress, has found 26 percent of those reports -- 40 million -- contain errors, and 10 million had serious errors.

It's even more disturbing how difficult it can be to get the three major credit reporting agencies to fix errors.

The FTC says it found only one in five people had errors corrected after disputing the inaccurate information on their credit reports.

U.S. law requires the companies to respond when inaccuracies are pointed out, but many people report having difficulties getting mistakes corrected.

People are entitled to get one report per year from each of the three reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, which can be requested all at once or spaced out through the year to allow more frequent monitoring for mistakes.

FTC officials recommend people check their credit reports regularly as a first step toward spotting mistakes, and recommend using the website AnnualCreditReport.com to get those reports. Alternatively, people can request their credit reports by mail at Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Going to the three reporting agencies directly, or to other credit reporting services frequently advertised, like freecreditreport.com, may result in sales pitches for credit monitoring or other services, something consumers should be wary about.

It is disturbing to learn that so many mistakes are made in the credit reporting process, and consumers certainly should take that first step to monitor their credit reports and dispute errors.

But the credit reporting agencies need to do more to ensure that the reports they compile are accurate in the first place, and to respond quickly and fairly when inaccuracies are pointed out.

The power they hold to affect people's household finances and lives is so great that they must be held to the highest possible standards.